FEATURED ARTICLES ABOUT FLOOD INSURANCE - PAGE 5

NEWPORT NEWS - More than 100 residents of Great Oak apartments are still displaced from Aug. 25 flooding, but should be back in their homes by the end of the year, officials said. Great Oak, located near City Center, is a 143-unit Section 8 property owned and managed by the Newport News Redevelopment and Housing Authority. The property is designed for low-income senior and disabled residents. The authority is spending about $2.9 million in taxpayer dollars renovating 114 units damaged in the flood, using a combination of loans, reserves and annual funds that flow from the federal government.

GLOUCESTER — The Board of Supervisors unanimously approved Tuesday night a coastal floodplain management plan that guides the preparedness for floods in low-lying areas of the county. The board approved the plan 6-0 — Supervisor Andy James was not present at the meeting — as presented by Emergency Services Coordinator C. Creig Moore. The floodplain management plan is instrumental in the county receiving points in a community rating system that helps decrease the cost of flood insurance for residents, Moore said.

Government flood funds helped all Response to "Let homeowners pay," Jan. 24 by O. Harold Jackson: I need to understand how a government grant is any different than Jackson's purchase of government-sponsored and funded flood insurance. I am a resident of Poquoson and suffered through Hurricane Isabel and its aftermath. My family's home was severely damaged, and we, too, enjoyed the government's answer to proper housing for a family of three; my neighbors had a family of six in one trailer.

Robert Clark stood next to a large, rectangular Dumpster brimming with his soggy, ruined furniture. At first, he felt like crying. "I can laugh now, but I couldn't a little while ago," he said. "Just sit there and watch 20-odd years of your life go down the drain." Clark's Buckroe Beach home was at the center of a three-block lake that formed Monday after 4 to 6 inches of rain fell in the morning hours. Rescue workers had to paddle down the street in a boat to reach Clark's wife, who is confined to a wheelchair.

The city of Franklin continues looking for helping hands to assist businesses and residents clean up hurricane debris. From Saturday to Monday, about 1,000 volunteers turned out to help businesses get water-damaged items from equipment to sheet rock to the curb for pick up, the Virginia Department of Emergency Services estimates. "It was wonderful," said Donna Napier with state emergency services. "There were military - Coast Guard, Navy, Army reserves - construction crews, parents and grandparents."

David Polley documents storm damage for a living. He has seen what hurricanes can do. He spent time in icebound Maine. On Friday, he viewed a condemned house near the Chesapeake Bay in Hampton: a ruined porch, smashed windows, and a watermelon-sized boulder tossed into the debris. "I am duly impressed by your nor'easter," he said. If he and other government officials see enough scenes like that one, it could translate into money for storm victims in Hampton Roads. Polley, part of a four-person government team, toured the hardest-hit areas of the city, accompanied by Emergency Coordinator Eric Wooster and Codes Inspector Maynard Brown III. They spent the rest of the afternoon asking questions and crunching numbers.

The stormwater piping infrastructure is old and inadequate and our community floods regularly when it rains. We pay our taxes on time and deserve to have the money reinvested into the infrastructure of our [neighborhoods]. Our local and state government representatives have not done their jobs. The recent storms a wake up call. If this issue is not agressively addressed, we will all be in serious trouble. Some of us already are in trouble now due to water penetration. Homeowners must make sure that they have flood insurance whether it is required or not. It will be needed.

Maps will reflect information gained from flooding caused by recent hurricanes and help communities regulate growth. Flood maps that in some cases are nearly 20 years old will be updated to make them more accurate and accessible to cities, counties and residents by using advanced technology and by placing them on the Internet. Cities and counties will be able to use the maps in digital Geographic Information Systems format to regulate development in areas at risk of flooding.

Meeting set for Isabel home-repair program GLOUCESTER - A public information meeting will be held Tuesday night at 7 p.m. at AchillesElementary School for victims of Hurricane Isabel who are eligible for additional state and federal funds for home repairs and replacements. An increase in participation from the federal government and the state more than doubled the amount of money available to Isabel victims participating in the "Hazard Mitigation Program." The county has 28 applications for the program on file, said Gloucester County Administrator Bill Whitley.

At first glance, Mahlon Williams' black Camaro didn't look so bad. Granted, it smelled a bit musty. But sitting there in Williams' driveway Friday afternoon - safe from the flooded street and emptied of the water that had risen to the car's seats on Thursday - the vehicle appeared to be drying out just fine. A closer inspection, however, told a different story. A finger poked into the carpet on the car's floor, for example, felt like pushing into a sponge. The carpet then popped up again, courtesy of water trapped under the carpet.